I personally think it was because of the British because with almost every coalition the British were funding it and telling the powers of Europe to oppose Bonaparte. Some of his campaigns were his own intend but the majority was organized by the frightened coalition partners because they were scared that their Monarchy would fall. So when people say that Napoleon was a war hungry bandit then that is an insult on him.

well what would happen if all the monarchies in europe fell at once? what would be in their place? england had been scarred by centuries of bloody civil wars, and the memory of the short lived cromwell 'republic'. i think britain saw the republican france the same way the americans viewed communism

Napoleon was very ambitious. I think even without British meddling, Napoleon would have been itching to expand his power. To quote from an entry in his personal diary in 1802: "My power proceeds from my reputation and from the victories I have won. My power would fail if I were not to support it with more glory and more victories. Conquest has made me what I am; only conquest can maintain me."

In 1804 he writes: "My mistress is power; I have done too much to conquer her to let her be snatched away from me. Although it may be said that power came to me of its own accord, yet I know what labour, what sleepless nights, what scheming, it has involved..."

We have a thread similar to this. It's partially the fault of the British, for defying the Treaty of Amiens. The treaty said that the British had to leave Malta and Egypt, but these were important areas for Britain to control for economic, maritime/military reasons. From the very beginning of the peace of Amiens, the British didn't leave, it was always, "tomorrow, eventually". At the same time, Napoleon wanted to make France stronger. Everyone was in the war for more territory and political gains. France just gets the majority of the blame, like Germany for WW1. Taken from my thread on Nappy:

We have a thread similar to this. It's partially the fault of the British, for defying the Treaty of Amiens. The treaty said that the British had to leave Malta and Egypt, but these were important areas for Britain to control for economic, maritime/military reasons. From the very beginning of the peace of Amiens, the British didn't leave, it was always, "tomorrow, eventually". At the same time, Napoleon wanted to make France stronger. Everyone was in the war for more territory and political gains. France just gets the majority of the blame, like Germany for WW1. Taken from my thread on Nappy: